Memories of the Alhambra Episode 14 Review

Go Yoo Ra’s hissy fit is something to behold and I think Han Bo Reum did a great job because usually I find hissy fits a bore and annoyance to watch. (She’s still annoying but I just low-key wanna see how crazy she can get.) Cha Byung Hoon looks like he has utterly regretted joining hands with someone uncontrollable and I only wish I could say ‘serve you right’ but right now, the one suffering is Jin Woo and not Professor Cha. It does feel quite satisfying in a narrative sense to watch Yoo Ra play not just a simple jealous ex-wife but someone who is a time bomb and can set things crazy….but girl, I hope you crash and burn.

I know this re-telling of the story from different characters’ perspectives, plus insertions of flashbacks are not well-received by some. But somehow, I just liked the way it gives the viewers a totally different take on the issue? When Professor Cha told Sun Ho in a previous episode that it’s too late, I thought he meant like he has already manipulated those testimonies and everything but it’s not till this episode that we knew it was because of Yoo Ra’s deranged moments.

I also like that Hee Joo is slowly working herself back in the game; the girl knows how to stay calm and help. If only they try to work her into the story way earlier, I feel like Hee Joo could have been a totally kick-ass character. And now it’s too late for her to be one, just because Jin Woo tries to shove her away into a protective room every time there’s a chance for her to get involved. I get Jin Woo’s concerns, especially having just seen Puppy Seo die because of him. But from a narrative perspective, this doesn’t allow our female lead to develop into something more phenomenal. If the aim is for Hee Joo to stay as a humble love-interest, then I guess she’s it. (Of course, notwithstanding that Hee Joo is the one who provided the key revelation about the Hand of Fatima, which is awesome but the character can be even better, y’know?)

Rules for Seo so far seem rather consistent – he didn’t turn up at the end of EP10 because the light source wasn’t something dangerous but something which halted the game. He didn’t turn up for the most part of this episode because Jin Woo just had trouble reloading the guns but not yet in life danger. He finally turns up when the NPC successfully cornered Jin Woo and fired two shots at him. Any comments on this anyone? Like plot holes or flaws.

But for NPCs in general, the rules are still unclear. So far, here’s what we have:

Interplayer duels will deal blows which hurt in reality (I’m assuming this is caused by the glitch to become a universal rule).

NPCs do not hurt low level players i.e Seo when he was still a puppy puppy and Hee Joo now (question: just how high enough? Is this consistent for all of Jin Woo’s battles?) OR once glitch has occured, player will be affected by normal NPCs (still, is this consistent?).

Rule 2 is overriden if player becomes allies with someone affected by Rule 1/alternate Rule 2.

But I’m not quite convinced about the reason behind the glitch – why should Marco stabbing Se Joo cause Emma to glitch and for the blows thereafter to start hurting? If they are going to stick to a in-world, no fantasy explanation, I still don’t quite see the link.

Frivolous notes/questions of the day:

My heart goes out to Park Sun Ho. You have my condolences.

I’m not really digging the look of the Korean NPCs, especially the soldiers.

Wow, is no one hearing this conversation from outside the changing room? And no one saw two of them coming out of the same room? No raised eyebrows to say the least?:P

It strangely makes me sad to see how good NPC Seo is with his gun, as compared to real-life Seo who struggled to pull the trigger but still wanted to help Jin Woo so much.

What’s with the strange cyclist…that was some bad acting. I thought he was going to turn into a possessed NPC.

If Emma is a character which can be repositioned, then why didn’t they just reposition her to talk to Hee Joo?

Okay okay is Hee Joo going to be amazing in the next 3 episodes? I still have hope.

Great to know that our leads still have time for some kissing despite 5-minutes countdown. Haha!

Okay, Park Shin Hye watching another Park Shin Hye being dragged away startled me for a split second. I thought there was a modern Emma just for that moment.

Omg what a dramatic, echo-y gasp at the end. HAHAH.

Sill hoping that the last two episodes can tie everything together nicely – I guess they want to go down an epic reveal of what happens when the key reaches the hand. But I do think that the repetitive nature of the ‘boring’ side of the story being told first before back-peddling to show the ‘exciting’ side does cut back on what would have been good tension for the story.

But at least Se Joo IS BACK!!! Finally!! Finding Se Joo has come to an end. I feel like giving everyone a medal for surviving this long wait.